


Saving Grace

by PixieDawn



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-06
Updated: 2012-06-07
Packaged: 2017-11-07 01:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/425349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixieDawn/pseuds/PixieDawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2 strangers, one abandoned baby and a lie that will change their lives forever. What will the consequences of their lie be? And, perhaps more importantly, what will strangers Edward and Bella do now that they've got a baby to care for? MA/NC17 for future chapters. Beta'd by Smmiskimen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Finding Grace

Do you know that feeling of being somewhere in between sleeping and being awake? When you’re aware of the soft caress of the sheets against your skin and the slow filtering of light into the room but not quite able of opening your eyes and waking up fully. That was the stage I was in. The room was completely quiet, bathing me in drowsy tranquility. 

  


I twisted around, burrowing deeper into the covers and let out a contented sigh. The silence was a rare commodity. Living in a tiny studio on the top floor of a crowded building always ensured enough background noise. A sudden thought busted me out of my tranquil state. It was too quiet. 

  


My bed was on a raised platform nestled between the kitchen area and my computer corner. There was always an electrical hum around me, at all times. It was strangely absent right now. I shot up from underneath my blankets, frantically looking around the studio. 

  


The lights I used as nightlights next to my bed and TV set were turned off, just like my alarm clock. I squinted at the clock on the opposite wall. 

  


9.17! 

  


“Shit!” I shrieked, jumping out of bed. I was supposed to be at work an hour ago! As I raced through the studio, grabbing a set of clothes on-the-go, I cursed the third power outage that hit this building in the last two weeks. 

  


I jumped through the shower long enough to wash my hair and make sure I didn’t smell like a Neanderthal and sped through the rest of my routine. I skipped breakfast, opting instead to yank something out of the vending machine at work, if I could, and was out the door within twenty minutes of waking up. 

  


I fished my cellphone out my purse. 

  


“Ah shit,” I moaned, going down the stairs and noting how I had missed 4 calls from my boss. My fingers swiped across the screen of my phone as I bolted through the front door of my building and onto the street. 

  


“Pick up, pick up,” I mumbled, rushing towards the train station. 

  


“Bella Swan, where in fucks name are you?!” My boss Rosalie Hale shrieked when she picked up. Rosalie was generally a nice person but being editor-in-chief of a major fashion magazine was a stressful job, and damn near impossible to do without an assistant. That’s where I come in. 

  


“I’m so sorry, Rose,” I panted, picking up my pace for the four blocks I had to walk. “There was another power outage at my apartment. I’m on my way right now.” 

  


“Hurry! There’s a photo shoot I need to attend in an hour and I still need to okay the outfits for it,” she snapped, hanging up immediately. Sighing, I picked up my pace further, almost sprinting down the streets now.

  


By the time I reached the station, I was panting loudly and there was a sharp cramp in my side. I felt like I could barely move and my head was spinning due to the lack of food in my stomach. But I didn’t have the luxury of stopping so I pushed on towards the entrance, already fishing my card out of my wallet. 

  


“Help!” 

  


My head spun automatically towards the cry of distress, my feet slowing. 

  


“Someone help! Please!” It was a man, frantically waving one hand and spinning around in his efforts to find someone to help him. I stopped walking completely. On his arm was a bundle wrapped in what looked like a leather jacket. 

  


“Oh my god,” I breathed, realizing what it was. My body responded before my mind could and I was suddenly bolting towards the man on the other side of the street, ignoring the angry horns of the car I almost got hit by. 

  


The man turned around at the sound, his eyes landing on me and a crushing relief filled the green orbs. 

  


“What’s wrong?” I shouted, running the last stretch of pavement between myself and him. 

  


“I found her,” he rambled. “She was in that alley over there! Shit, she’s so cold!” The man was frantic, clutching the leather bound bundle to his chest. There was a small patch of hair visible.

  


“Please God, tell me she’s alive,” I whispered, mesmerized by the baby in his arms. I could see her face now. She was ghastly white, her lips tinted blue. I felt sick to my stomach. Just then, she gave a sign of life by gently pursing her lips. The cry of relief bursting from my chest was too strong to stop. 

  


“She’s so cold,” the man muttered, pulling her impossibly closer to the heat of his body. “So cold.” 

  


Before I had a conscious thought, my cellphone was out and I had dialled 911. Stuttering and frantic, I explained the operator what was going on and was rewarded with the promise of an ambulance racing towards our location. I hung up quickly, hovering around the man and the precious bundle in his arms. I shrugged off my coat, placing it around the jacket - which I now deduced was his - and his arms. 

  


“We need to warm her up,” I mumbled. He nodded, looking up and down the streets to await the ambulance. Feeling sorry for him I introduced myself in an effort to distract him from the panic coursing through his emerald green eyes. Under any other circumstance, I would’ve appreciated how handsome the man truly was. 

  


He looked up from the baby and into my eyes. “I’m Edward, thank you so much for helping,” he said, calming down a little. I smiled at him, placing my hand on the baby and moving the fabric away that obscured her face from sight. It was a truly beautiful baby, but also shockingly small. It made me realize that she couldn’t be much older than three-maybe four-weeks old. 

  


“How’d you find her?” I whispered, stroking my fingers over the baby’s frigid cheek. It was a staggering relief to see that her little lips were already less blue than they had been. 

  


“She was in the alley,” Edward answered. “She was just lying there with nothing but a thin, filthy blanket around her...” his voice changed, an angry sneer seeping into it “...someone just left her like that to die.” 

  


“We don’t know that, Edward,” I gently admonished. He was about to respond when the sounds of sirens reached our ears and we turned towards it. The ambulance came skidding around a corner about two blocks away, burning rubber as whoever drove it floored it. 

  


“Hey!” I shouted, waving my arms to flag it down. “Over here! We’re here!” 

  


It skidded to a halt right next to us, the sirens deafeningly loud. The man that jumped out from behind the wheel smiled in a way that belied his near panicked way of driving. Another man jumped out from the back, while the third stayed inside. 

  


“Good morning,” the driver said jovially. “My name’s Emmett and this here is Jasper.” 

  


The two had an air of calming nature around them and I found myself relaxing as they guided us and the baby into the back of the ambulance. 

  


“Alrighty,” the biggest of the two, Emmett, said. He took the baby from Edward’s arms and placed her on the gurney. Edward immediately folded his arms across his chest, watching with a frown. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he shot me a grateful look. 

  


With baited breath we watched as Jasper and Emmett took the baby out of the jacket. The blanket Edward had found her in reeked of mildew and the faint stench of vomit. Emmett quickly tossed it out the back, taking the clean blanket that Jasper handed him. He swaddled her swiftly and efficiently before adding a heated blanket. 

  


I took a deep breath, starting to feel frantic suddenly. Why was she so quiet? I took another breath as Emmett dipped his pinkie finger in a cup of water before rubbing it over the baby’s tiny lips. They puckered slightly. “Good girl,” Emmett cooed. “Come on, little lady.” 

  


The baby, stirring slightly, opened her mouth and latched onto Emmett’s finger, suckling in an effort to get sustenance. Edward and I let out twin breaths of relief just as Emmett and Jasper praised the baby for being a good girl. 

  


Emmett turned, giving Jasper access to her and as he checked her heartbeat, Emmett told us to buckle into the small seats in the back and got out, closing the doors with a loud bang. Edward rubbed his forehead with one hand. 

  


“Thank you,” he whispered, nudging me gently with his shoulder. I kept quiet. What should I have said? My pleasure? No problem? No, I didn’t respond. I just shot him a smile that came out more like a grimace. From the minute I saw him standing on the street, I was invested and I was sure as hell not gonna leave the baby now. Edward might have found her, but I found them. 

  


The sirens came back on - I hadn’t even noticed they had been turned off in the first place and the ambulance started moving. A hell of a lot more gentle than the way it had been driving before, I might add. 

  


I kept my eyes on the baby as Jasper made her a warm bottle of formula. Without a word, he picked her up and placed her in my arms. With wide eyes I held her a little awkwardly. I’d never before held a baby, never trusting myself with such a precious little thing. And yet, my arms seemed to know exactly what to do, molding and shaping perfectly to accommodate her comfortably. Edward, next to me, reached over to caress her perfect little cheek and I couldn’t help the smile that was threatening to split my face. I took the bottle and, following Emmett’s previous example, rubbed the tip over the baby’s lips first before she latched on with a pretty astounding force. 

  


Jasper sat down on the gurney with a clipboard and started writing on it before he spoke up. I ripped my eyes away from her and focused on him. He was a tall man, although slightly shorter than Edward. His face was handsome but for the large scar that ran over his cheekbone and down to his jaw. His hair was a honey shade of blond and it actually reminded me a little of Rosalie. 

  


My stomach dropped through my ass thinking of her, but Jasper’s voice quickly expelled those thoughts. 

  


“Alright,” he said, clearing his throat. “She seems perfectly healthy. Just a little hypothermic but nothing major. She’s also a little on the thin side but some tender love and care should take care of that quickly.” 

  


Edward and I nodded in unison. 

  


“When we arrive in the hospital, the doctor will give her a quick check-up and then we’ll see from there, okay?” 

  


Another nod and then both our gazes were back on the baby. She was drinking quietly but I was startled to see her eyes were wide open. Of course I knew that practically newborn babies didn’t really stare at people, but I swear up and down that she was staring straight into my soul. 

  


“Hey beautiful,” Edward whispered. “You gave us quite the scare.” 

  


The smile on my face widened when one tiny little hand made its way out from underneath the warm blankets and touched the nipple of the bottle. Edward reached out to touch her little fingers and she surprised him by gripping his fingers. 

  


“Whoa,” he chuckled. “You got a strong grip on ya, beautiful.” 

  


My smile grew impossibly bigger and then we were pulling into the ambulance deck of the hospital. Emmett got out from the drivers seat and a few seconds later he was opening the back of the ambulance for us. Jasper got out first, as did the third guy who had never introduced himself, before Edward did. I got up, too, clutching the baby to my chest. Edward and Emmett helped me out the back and then we were inside the hospital. 

  


Emmett and Jasper led us through the sterile, cold halls to a separate room where we’d have to wait for the doctor. 

  


“Alright,” Emmett said, reaching out to pat Edward’s shoulder. “It’s a little crazy in the hospital right now but the doctor should be with you ASAP.” He turned to me and rubbed my arm. 

  


“The best of luck to the both of you and you are true heroes for saving that precious little girl.” 

  


My responding smile was bashful and stayed on my face well after Emmett and Jasper left to go on their next job. Alone, Edward and I looked at each other and the realisation that we were nothing but strangers hit me in full capacity. 

  


Suddenly I felt awkward. I had no idea what to tell this man, what to say to the man I helped save this precious baby. He was staring at the baby and I took the opportunity to stare at him. He was tall and muscularly lean; narrow hips but broad shoulders. His face was incredibly handsome with a cut jaw and a strong nose. His jaw line was covered in stubble, adding to his masculinity. His hair was an odd sight though. It was hard to define the color of it and it depended on the way the light hit it. It looked plain brown when you first looked at it, but the light hitting it illuminated a strong reddish glow. He pulled his hand through it and it stuck up adorably. Suddenly he looked like a petulant boy. 

  


His emerald green eyes shot up to mine and I was trapped underneath his gaze. He reached out and touched my hand. Where he touched me, my skin tingled pleasantly and it took me by surprise. He pulled back, rubbing his fingers with his thumb. He must have felt that same tingling sensation. 

  


“I don’t know how to thank you for helping me save her,” he said and now that the panic had left him, his voice was rich and deep, seeping over me like soft velvet. It shot a tiny shiver across my spine. 

  


“You don’t have to thank me,” I muttered, looking down at her. “Would you like to hold her?” 

  


Edward smiled and shook his head softly. “No, she looks quite comfortable right where she is,” he whispered, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She was preoccupied with drinking the last of her bottle and I knew I’d have to burp her soon. 

  


“What do you think will happen to her?” I whispered. Edward frowned. 

  


“They’ll try and locate her mother,” he said. “Until then, she’ll probably go into foster care.” 

  


I squeezed my eyes shut but it didn’t drown out the onslaught of flashes assaulting my mind. My parents died when I was five, killed in a car crash. I vividly remember the social worker coming to my house with the scary looking police man. My nanny explained to me what had happened and that I needed to go with the social worker. 

  


The social worker had been a scary woman, big and angry and her hand around my upper arm had been painful. When she had placed me in the backseat of her car, she told me to quit crying. That she would find new parents for me and that I would be okay if I just stopped crying. All I wanted was my mommy and daddy, not this overly stout woman that was taking me away. I started screaming for my parents, all the way to the orphanage. 

  


She had brought me inside, once again hurting my arm in her strong hand and told the man she dropped me off with that I would be a little troublemaker. 

  


I stayed in the orphanage for two weeks before my first foster family picked me up. The mom was nice but the father was mean, especially when he’d been drinking. He would scream at me and my little foster brother and threaten to hit us with his belt. I wasn’t there for long but it was the first of a seemingly endless chain of foster families, one worse than the other. All I had fit inside a small, worn suitcase that had once belonged to my mother and her cameo necklace. 

  


I couldn’t count the times I had lain in bed, clutching her necklace and silently crying for her to come back to me. To save me from the system. To love me like only she could love me. It was horrible, all of it. 

  


“Bella?” I heard Edward’s concerned voice. 

  


“Hmm?” I hummed, distracted by my inner thoughts. I couldn’t believe the precious baby in my arms would go into the system, to live a half life forever stuck in between people pretending to care. Her mind would be crushed, her person forever labeled in the eyes of society. 

  


I briefly thought about becoming a foster parent myself, just so I could take her in with me but that hope was extinguished as swiftly as it was kindled to life. I lived in a small studio in a dingy apartment building. My job was stressful, long hours and low pay. I would never be considered an appropriate candidate for foster parenting. 

  


“Bella?” Edward repeated as I looked down on the small angel in my arms. A single drop fell from the corner of my eye and landed on her cheek. 

  


“Bella!” Edward’s hand on my shoulder shook me out of my thoughts and I looked up into his worried eyes. 

  


“She’s done drinking,” he whispered and took her from my arms to burp her. He kept his eyes on me as he brought her up to his shoulders. He started rocking her, gently patting her on her back. The door opened just as she finally burped. Panic struck me as the doctor walked in, his eyes on the chart in his hands. 

  


“Good morning,” the doctor said, finally looking up. “I’m Dr. Happ.” 

  


He walked up to me and gave me his hand to shake. “Bella Swan,” I muttered. Dr. Happ smiled and moved on to shake Edward’s hand. 

  


As he introduced himself as Edward Cullen, I realized that it was the first time I had heard his last name and it struck me as vaguely familiar. I had heard that name before but I couldn’t quite place it. I definitely hadn’t met Edward before, it would’ve been impossible to forget such a handsome man but the name... 

  


“Edward, it seems like you have some regurgitation on your shoulder,” Dr Happ pointed out. As Edward grabbed some tissues to wipe the baby and his shirt clean, I looked at the doctor. 

  


He was a mousy man, mid to late forties and about as short as I was as. He had a comb-over and his grey eyes looked like they were bulging behind the thick glasses. He was over all an extremely unattractive man and he certainly didn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed. 

  


“So,” he said, grabbing a set of gloves and putting them on. “Are you the baby’s parents?” 

  


I was instantly thrown back into the memories of foster care. Clear as day, I saw the opportunity presented to me on a silver platter by the doctor. Before I could stop myself to think of any ramifications my mouth blurted: “Yes.” 

  


I could practically feel Edward’s head snapping to my direction and his eyes burning the question in my temple. Play along, Edward. Please play along. Don’t let them take her away. She won’t survive the system... 

  


I jumped a little when Edward spoke. “Yes, she’s our baby.” 

  


I was stunned speechless. I had wanted him to play along with me posing as the baby’s mother but I had never expected him to pose as her father. To step up like that. I looked at him with wide eyes and he briefly met my gaze. That one look conveyed more than a thousand words. 

  


We will save her. His look said. You and me together. 

  


“Oh good,” Dr. Happ said cheerfully and my jaw nearly hit the floor with added surprise. Was he really going to be duped that easily? “What’s her name?” 

  


Panicked again I turned to Edward who casually regarded the doctor. “Grace,” he lied perfectly. “Her name is Grace.” 

  


Grace. It was a perfect name for her and I was shocked by how quickly Edward had thought of it. 

  


“Pretty name,” the doctor said with a nod. “And how did she end up in the alley?” 

  


Shit. 

  


Shit. 

  


Oh my god, shit! 

  


“Uhm...” I stammered, a cold sweat breaking out all over my body. Feeling like I was gonna hurl, I frantically squeezed my hands and bit my bottom lip. 

  


“Our nanny took her last night,” Edward lied again, with just the right amount of frantic anger in his voice to be believable. “We searched for her all through the night. The police have already arrested the nanny.” 

  


I was floored. My mind was a big void of nothing as I blatantly gaped at Edward for being such an exquisite liar. 

  


“Oh, you must be so relieved,” Dr. Happ gushed and then I was gaping at him instead. Was he really that gullible?! Edward was the perfect picture of a worried father as he asked the doctor to please look Grace over. To make sure she was healthy and that she wouldn’t suffer from her night outside. 

  


“Well, by the time you arrived at the hospital, her hypothermia was already gone” Dr. Happ spoke. “And she certainly looks healthy so I don’t think I’ll need to do a lot of tests but I would like to do some blood tests, if you wouldn’t mind.” 

  


The doctor was looking at me for approval and I nodded minutely, still stunned into a state of shock about the prospect that we might even be able to pull this lie off. In all honesty, the ramifications didn’t concern me one bit. I just cared about little Grace. It was astonishing how quickly she had wiggled her way into my heart but she was there now and I wasn’t about to evict her. 

  


“Yes, of course,” I told the doctor who gave me another smile, the dimwit that he was, and made a move to take Grace from Edward. He gave her to Dr. Happ with a grimace and we watched in silence as he prepped her to draw blood. 

  


But where I had expected big needles and an endless line of vials to fill, Dr. Happ just made a tiny cut into the back of her foot and caught the droplets of blood in a small vial. The cut wasn’t even big enough to make Grace cry. She just tried to tug her foot of his hand and when that didn’t work, she just started suckling on her little fist. 

  


“Okay,” the doctor said, straightening up and tickling Grace on the belly. When he turned to us, he continued. “I’ll just run some routine tests and then you’ll be free to go.” 

  


I nodded and smiled, walking over to Grace on the examination table to pick her up. As the doctor was leaving to run the tests, I put her against my shoulder and I felt this wave of something I wasn’t quite able to explain wash over me. I just knew that it felt really good. 

  


I turned to face Edward, who was looking at us with a gentle smile. Frowning, I looked back at him. 

  


“Why did you do it?” I asked. 

  


“What do you mean?” he retorted in confusion.

  


“Why did you lie to the doctor? About the baby being yours?” 

  


“Well, why did you?” he deadpanned and my questioning died like a flame being held under water. 

  


“Touché,” I whispered. “I just couldn’t let them put her in the system, you know?” 

  


His demeanor changed, his eyes zeroing in on mine and suddenly I felt vulnerable and small under his gaze, scrutinizing me in ways I’ve never been scrutinized before. I didn’t like it and yet I couldn’t look away from him. 

  


“I understand,” he whispered after a moment that lasted forever. I nodded awkwardly, afraid that if I would try to speak, nothing would come out. I was burning with curiosity, a million questions rushing through my mind at once but those would have to wait for now. 

  


And as Grace quietly slept against my shoulder, Edward and I waited for the doctor so that we would be free to figure out what would happen next. We were strangers and yet we were oddly bound by other through circumstances too odd for the human mind to comprehend. We had never met before today and now we had a baby to take care of. The thought should have scared me out of my wits but I was strangely calm. 

  


Edward and I would get to know each other and we would do what would be best for little Grace. 

  


The silence in the room wasn’t exactly tense or uncomfortable, Edward and I just didn’t have anything to say at that moment and so we said nothing at all. The silence held on as time crept past and I briefly thought of my work. 

  


The panic I had felt earlier thinking of Rose wasn’t there anymore. I knew she’d understand once I told her about the situation and I knew she’d even pull favors to make sure Grace had everything she could ever want. Babies were Rose’s weak spot and I damn well knew it. 

  


Dr. Happ took an hour before he returned to us with Grace’s test results. He looked flushed though and muttered something about two emergencies coming in within a few minutes. 

  


“Is everything okay, Dr. Happ?” I asked. 

  


“Yes. Yes. Everything’s fine,” he assured me unconvincingly. “Gracie here is perfectly healthy it seems. You’re free to take her home.” 

  


He smiled at us for a moment before his pager started blaring and he bolted out the door leaving me, Edward and the baby alone. 

  


A stunned silence filled the room before Edward cleared his throat. 

  


“Come on,” he said, putting his hand on my arm and together we walked out of the hospital with the baby we had just lied through our teeth for to protect. 

  


We silently agreed on a cab to take us from the hospital back to the station. I gave Grace to him for the ride there and watched him watching her throughout the trip. I paid the driver before Edward could when we arrived and we got out simultaneously. 

  


We stood, on the exact same spot we had met hours ago, watching each other with a warm, healthy baby entwining our very souls together and the moment took my breath away. 

  


Edward’s lips curled with a small smile as he rubbed Grace’s back gently. 

  


“So,” he started. “Now what?” 


	2. Settling puzzle pieces

I may have looked calm on the outside, but on the inside my mind was buzzing with alarm. Everything that happened this morning; waking up to the sounds of a baby crying right outside my window, finding her, my panic attack, Bella, the hospital.  The lie.   
  
As a lawyer, I knew well enough what might happen to us if we were to be caught. We would be slapped across the face with child abduction charges and sympathy would be a fool’s hope to expect from any judge. My only calming thought was that my family had good connections. My dad was the dean of medicine in the very hospital we took little Grace to and I wasn’t exactly on the bottom of the food chain either with my law-firm. But still, it felt wrong to have to pull favors to keep my ass - and Bella’s for that matter - out of shit we wouldn’t be able to get out of. Not to mention that my family would rip me a new one the size of the city itself.   
  
Bella.   
  
She baffled me beyond any measure. When I first saw her running across the street without any care for her own safety, she seemed like a god-send. In all honesty, in my panicked state, I had never expected anyone to answer my screams. But there she was, helping me, staying with the baby, lying through her pretty white teeth to protect her.   
  
She was staring at me now and her chocolate eyes were swimming with emotion. I rubbed Grace’s back and I couldn’t keep a small smile from playing around my lips.   
  
“So,” I started. “Now what?”   
  
Good question, Cullen. You carreer-killing moron.  My inner-voice sneered and I internally huffed. If word got out that I had basically kidnapped a small baby, my life as I knew it would be over faster than I could blink.   
  
Bella huffed a little, pulling my attention away from my depreciating thoughts and towards her lips.   
  
Pretty...   
  
Of course that would be one of the first things I’d notice. Bella Swan, angel in disguise, saviour of small babies and panic-stricken men, was hot. My own mind exhausted me sometimes.  
  
Let me introduce myself: Edward Cullen, CEO of Cullen Law, international wooer of ladies and all over idiot. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at myself.   
  
“I don’t know,” Bella whispered. “But let’s start by getting off the street, okay?”   
  
“Sounds good to me,” I told her, adjusting the baby in my arms gently. I bobbed my head towards the front door of my town house and watched as Bella frowned in confusion.   
  
“You live here?” she asked, adorably biting her lip. Her eyes were flicking from my front door to the alley from which I had saved little Grace and back to me.   
  
“Yep,” I answered, walking the short distance from our spot on the sidewalk, up the stoop and fished the keys out of my pocket. “Come on, we’ll talk over coffee.”   
  
“Kay,” she whispered, following me into the house. My house was my sanctuary. The entry hall was painted a deep cafe-au-lait color and furnished with an antique wooden side-table and coat-rack. Bella was kind enough to take Grace from me and I shrugged off my coat before turning around and helping her out of her parka.   
  
The tips of my fingers brushed the skin of her neck and that small amount of skin-to-skin contact shot up my arms like a pleasant burn. It reminded me of when I touched her hand in the hospital. She must have felt it too because she shivered ever so slightly, adjusting the baby in her arms.   
  
Little Grace was awake, suckling on her fist and looking over Bella’s shoulder straight at me. I smiled wide at her, leaning in closer to rub my nose against her tiny one. Bella shivered again at my close proximity and my own body responded in kind. The sensation of her warmth, coupled with the flood of love I was already feeling for Grace, was making my head spin and I had to take a step back, just to clear my head.   
  
“Coffee?” I suggested, gesturing to the living room for Bella.   
  
“Yeah, that’d be great,” she sighed, rolling her neck a little. “You have a beautiful house.”   
  
“Thanks,” I said, sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck. I really did love my house. If I could, I would probably never leave it again.   
  
Going into the kitchen, I felt rather than heard Bella following me. We kept quiet as she looked around the kitchen while slowly rocking the baby in her arms. My head spun again.   
  
“So,” Bella huffed a little. “We should probably talk?”   
  
“Yeah,” I answered, pouring the coffee into mugs and placing one of them in front of her, motioning for her to take a seat on one of the stools. She did so awkwardly, juggling the baby in her attempt to sit down.   
  
“Oh, here,” I said, making my way around my kitchen island to pull out the stool for her and take Grace off her hands.   
  
She laughed and it was rich and pretty and contagious. Perfection.   
  
“Sorry,” she said, still laughing. “I’m not the most coordinated person in the world, especially not when there’s a small person in my arms.”   
  
I chuckled, filing that piece of information away. Bella and I would have to do a lot of getting to know each other since we now had a baby to care for.   
  
“Clumsy, huh?” I asked.   
  
“Yeah,” was her corresponding sigh. “It’s a curse.”   
  
“Adorable,” I countered.   
  
“Lethal,” she deadpanned causing me to laugh.   
  
“First things first,” I said, rubbing Grace’s back. “We should probably go get some supplies for little miss Damsel-in-distress here.”   
  
“Oh!” Bella exclaimed, biting her lip. “I totally forgot about that.”   
  
I observed her quietly as she bit her lip with a frown. She was worried and I didn’t like the look in her eyes. It was the same look she’d had in the hospital after I told her that Grace would probably go into foster care.   
  
“Come on,” I said, downing my coffee. “We have some shopping to do.”   
  
Bella sighed, gazing deep into her mug. “I don’t have any money.”   
  
“Who said anything about you paying?” I said light-heartedly, hoping to make the frown on her face disappear. Instead, it deepened.   
  
“Babies are expensive, Edward, I can’t let you pay for everything.”   
  
“On the contrary,” I told her. “I insist.”   
  
“But I -”   
  
“Let’s make a deal. I buy all the necesities, you buy her a cute outfit or two.”   
  
Bella’s lips curled up in a smile. “I know just where to go.”   
  
*~SG~*   
  
Bella’s workplace was crazy. When she had told me she was the assistant to the editor-in-chief of one of the largest fashion magazines in the country, my mind was bombarded with scenes from The Devil wears Prada. The movie my sister had made me watch with her wasn’t far off from reality. Including a bitchy boss.   
  
“Rose?” Bella asked, peeping her head into the door of an incredibly large, sophisticated office while I stood behind her awkwardly evading the longing gaze of the tall, tanned building of a man who was sitting behind one of the two desks.   
  
“You are soooo fired!” I heard a very pretty, very pissed off voice say on the other side of the door. Instinctively, I put my hand on Bella’s shoulder to offer protection but it turned out to be unnecessary.   
  
“Oh please,” Bella taunted, “You couldn’t fire me even if your life depended on it.”   
  
Bella took my hand off her shoulder and pulled me along with her into the room. Casting a quick look over my shoulder, I saw droolboy blatantly checking out my ass as I walked away. I rolled my eyes and adjusted Grace on my shoulder.   
  
Speaking of Grace, that baby thawed out Bella’s boss quicker than boiling water melts an ice cube. Rose, or whatever she’s called, was an impressive woman. Tall enough to be a supermodel and if her looks were any indication, she probably  was  a supermodel at some point. My brain immediately filed through the endless amount of Victoria’s Secrets models I had seen but I couldn’t place her between any of them.   
  
What? I’m a guy. Sue me.   
  
Rose had been glaring wickedly at Bella before her gaze fell on me and ultimately on Grace.   
  
“Oh,” she breathed, her demeanor changing completely in one fraction of a second. Her blond hair, which was pulled back into a stern bun suddenly seemed less stern, her piercing blue eyes melted completely, and her pretty face was the epitome of love as she walked my way to take Grace from me.   
  
“You’re a beauty,” she cooed to the baby. Grace, in turn, burped in her face. I cringed a little, waiting for the spit-up but thankfully it never came. Rose looked at me and we exchanged introductions quickly before she turned to Bella.   
  
“Whose baby is this and can I keep her?” she asked, causing Bella to laugh.   
  
“Uhm,” Bella said, fidgeting nervously with her hands. “Edward and I found her this morning. She was abandoned.”   
  
“No!” Rose gasped, mentioning towards the lounge set in her office and telling us to take a seat. “Tell me all about it and then we’ll see how I can help.”   
  
As Bella explained the happenings of today to her boss, I couldn’t keep my eyes away from her. She was calm up onto the point where she told about the hospital and ultimately turned onto the subject that’s been laying heavily on our hearts since we uttered the words:  She’s ours.   
  
“Oh, Bella,” Rose sighed, the look of sympathy on her face a direct opposite from what I expected. I had thought she would be angry about our lie, furious even. I’d thought it would cost Bella her job.   
  
It still might...   
  
“I couldn’t let them take her away, Rose,” Bella sighed, defeated. That same intense sadness welled up in her eyes again that she had in the hospital and I put my hand on her shoulder. She looked at me briefly and smiled.  
  
“You’re not in this alone, Bella,” I assured her and she squeezed my hand.   
  
“Well,” Rose interrupted, clearing her throat. “I’m sure that between us here at the magazine and Edward and his law firm, everything’ll be fine.”   
  
I frowned at the woman, just as Bella gasped in what I could only describe as recognition.   
  
“You’re E. A. Cullen!” she exclaimed loudly. I looked at her. “The attorney.”   
  
“Indeed I am,” I said, uncomfortable. Of course they would recognize me by name. My name was forever bound inevitably to the fashion world ever since I dated supermodel Tanya Delani a few years ago. And after that, my name was included into the gossip scene after our very nasty break-up which she took public.   
  
Bella kept looking at me in faint shock, muttering. “I knew I recognized your name...”   
  
“Yeah, well,” I said, clearing my throat and fidgeting with the neck of my shirt. “Don’t hold it against me.”   
  
“Please,” Rose dismissed. “Everyone with half a brain knew that Delani-bitch was tripping balls when she made up those stories about you.”   
  
I barked a baffled laugh, half-shocked and half-amused. It was true. Tanya’s drug problem was the reason we broke up. However, when she went public with a fabrication about how I was controlling and even abusive, her excuses of:  But Eddyyyyy, I didn’t mean it! I was high! stopped working for me.   
  
Bella smiled encouragingly at me and a small sigh of relief escaped my chest.   
  
“So,” Rose interrupted again. “What do you need for this gorgeous little thing in my arms.”   
  
Bella’s smile turned wicked - and sexy as all hell, god dammit - as she turned to her boss.   
  
“Clothes,” was her simple reply.   
  
I’ve never seen a woman go from calm and collected to excited to the point of squealing that fast before. And that was saying a lot considering who my sister was.   
  
Rose bustled around the office, grabbing a set of keys and dumping Grace in my arms as she flew around. She left the office, obviously intending for us to do the same and led us through a couple of corridors and locked doors before we arrived in what I could only describe as Designer Baby Heaven.   
  
“Wow,” I huffed, causing Bella to giggle a little.   
  
The room was square-shaped, the walls a pretty shade of soft green and lined with endless amounts of clothes. I saw labels such as L.A.M.B., Burberry Baby, Jean Paul Gaultier and D&G Baby. The clothes in this room were easily worth over a 100 grand.  
  
“Pick anything you like for little Grace!” Rose told us excitedly, just as her phone dinged with a message. I tore my eyes away from the small fortune worth of baby garments that would inevitably be ruined by spit-up and diapers and god only knows what else.   
  
“Shit,” she swore. “That’s probably Rachel calling.”   
  
“Go,” Bella told her with a smile. “Rachel Zoe waits for no one.”   
  
“Are you sure? I mean, I can help you with this?”   
  
“No, no,” Bella assured her. “Go be Miss Important. We’ll be fine.”   
  
“Okay,” Rose said, coming up to hug Bella and it was in that moment that it struck me. They weren’t boss-assistant. They were good friends and probably had been for a long time. I would have to ask Bella about it.   
  
Rose kissed Grace on her head then, and waved me goodbye. “It was nice meeting you.”   
  
“Likewise,” I told her, still slightly stunned about the clothes.   
  
“Oh and Bella,” she said on her way to the door. “I think it’s time for you to take those well deserved vacation days, yes?”   
  
Bella bit her lip again and made to protest.   
  
“Eh, eh!” Rose tutted. “I’m not hearing any of it. We’ll be fine, you take a couple of weeks off work and that’s an order.”   
  
“But Rose,” Bella sighed. “What about-”   
  
“Jakey can handle it,” Rose said with a final nod of her head. “Now go and I love you.”   
  
“Love you too,” Bella muttered as her boss slipped away through the door.   
  
“Wow,” I breathed, shaking my head a little and turning back to the racks of clothes.   
  
“Alright,” Bella sighed. “Let’s get the basics first.”   
  
She opened a drawer to her right which easily held around 50 onesies and pairs of tiny little socks. The cute factor went through the roof when she took Grace from me, laid her out on the carpeted floor, unwrapped her from her warm, thick blanket and gently put the socks and onesie on her. The diaper Grace got put on in the hospital was starting to get full and I fished out my phone to make a list of the necessities we would have to go out and get after we were done here.   
  
After she was done, Bella took Grace off the floor; forgoing the blanket and it was adorable to see how Grace tucked in her knees on Bella’s chest and how Bella naturally supported her little butt. This day had turned me into a major sap and you know what, I didn’t care one bit.   
  
“You’re a natural,” I told Bella, causing her to blush a little.   
  
“Thanks,” she whispered, stroking Grace’s back lovingly.   
  
“Have you ever considered having babies of your own?”   
  
“No,” she stated. “I never have.”   
  
Her demeanor changed, handing the baby to me and going through the clothes on autopilot. Her stance, the tightness in her shoulders and the pursing of her lips concerned me.   
  
“What’s wrong?” I asked in what I hoped was a gentle whisper.   
  
“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head. “I just...”   
  
She took a deep breath, pulling out an adorable floral dress and holding it up with a question in her eyes.   
  
“Yeah, it’s cute,” I told her, after which she put it on the chair in the corner and went in search of a cardigan and shoes.   
  
She took another deep breath as she looked. “I was in foster care.”   
  
I nodded sadly, having expected as much. The way she had reacted to me saying that the baby would most likely go into foster care, left little to the imagination.   
  
“My parents were killed in a car crash when I was five,” she continued and I watched as she fiddled with the cameo necklace on her sternum. “A social worker took me away and after that, my life was over. I never thought I could live with the possibility that my own children would ever end up in the system.”   
  
I swallowed thickly as she spoke of her various foster homes, the orphanages, the beatings and I realized how much courage it was taking from her to talk about it. She was giving me her all and all I had told her yet was my name and address.   
  
“You know, I was adopted,” I told her and she turned to me with a curious expression.   
  
“My biological mother was a drug addict and my father was a dealer,” I told her. I remember the day Carlisle sat me down to tell me about my biological parents and I ended up being sick to my stomach about it.   
  
“My father Carlisle delivered me as an addicted baby and nursed me to health. My mother died during labor and my father fled the hospital. Rumor has it he was shot to death shortly after.”   
  
“Oh my god, Edward,” Bella breathed, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.   
  
“It’s okay,” I told her, coming over to stroke her shoulders. She melted into me and it felt surprisingly nice; like I never wanted the moment to end. “Carlisle and his wife Esme took me in. I was one of the lucky ones.”   
  
“Yeah,” she agreed.   
  
“Thank you for telling me,” she whispered softly.   
  
Shrugging, I told her: “We’ll need to do a lot of getting to know each other, Bella.”   
  
“Well, let’s get this baby supplied and then we’ll talk, okay?”   
  
“Sounds good to me.”   
  
Bella fished out a hot pink cardigan, then opened another set of drawers that contained the tiniest shoes I’ve ever seen in my life. She took out shoes that were the exact same shade of pink as the cardigan and the flowers in the dress. With a gentle smile that made my insides feel funny, she placed Grace back on her blanket on the floor and dressed her, eventually holding her up for me and I smiled big.   
  
“You are a knock out, baby,” I cooed, taking Grace and holding her in front of me. “Look at you, so pretty.”   
  
Bella smiled at us and suggested I sit down with Grace while she went around to get a couple more outfits and I did exactly that. Grace settled into my arms, suckling on her fist and I fished out my phone again.   
  
Formula and bottles.   
  
Bella hustled around, holding up dresses as she went and I approved of all of them. The one item was impossibly more cute than the other and about 15 minutes later, she was carrying around a good load of at least 10 full outfits, along with onesies, socks, tights, shoes and hair accessories.   
  
“Are you sure we’re allowed to take all of this?” I asked.   
  
“Yeah,” she said, opening  yet  another drawer that held fabric bags, taking one out. She started to load the clothes inside and continued talking. “This is all last year’s collection and Rose needs an excuse to go out for more baby shopping.”   
  
I chuckled, “Well, okay then.”   
  
~*SG*~   
  
Our own baby shopping didn’t go quite as easily as that.   
  
“Edward, no!” Bella moaned, taking my arm in an attempt to tug me away from the bassinet I was looking at. The baby store we were at had absolutely everything baby related - from pacifiers to nursery furnishment, and from strollers to car seats and much, much more.   
  
“Bella, it’s perfect,” I countered, making a sweeping gesture towards the wicker basket-like crib. It looked like an old fashioned wicker basket, along with a giant handle that ran over the actual crib. It was cute, pretty and safe.   
  
Grace was asleep on my chest. We had already purchased a baby carrier that we could strap on like an inverted backpack. She fell asleep five seconds after I put her in it. It was awesome and now we had free arms for the shopping.   
  
“It costs a small fortune!” Bella was starting to get heated by this point. Honestly, the price wasn’t that bad and I told her so. She huffed. “Grace is only going to be in a bassinet for a few months, Edward. After that she’ll need a bigger bed.”   
  
“So, we’ll buy a bigger bed when the time comes,” I muttered, sending a silent prayer up to any God willing to listen that Grace would still be with us in a few months.   
  
Bella sighed, having seen the change in my demeanor.   
  
“You’re spending thousands of dollars,” she said gently, putting her hand on my shoulder.   
  
“I can afford it,” I told her.   
  
“I know,” she said. “But she has everything she needs for now, which is nourishment and people who love her.”   
  
I nodded, my eyes falling onto the bassinet again.   
  
“Please?” I asked her, which caused her to roll her eyes with a small giggle.   
  
“Do I even stand a chance to talk you out of buying this way too expensive crib?”   
  
“No.”   
  
Another giggle and I smiled widely, flagging down the store assistant, Bianca, for the umpteenth time. The poor girl looked tired as hell and I couldn’t blame her. She was the poor unlucky sap that was at the door greeting us when we arrived. We told her we needed everything a baby could possibly need and the worst part was that we couldn’t afford to wait for the store to order it. We needed everything and we needed it today. She’d had a minor panic attack.   
  
“Uhm, Mister Cullen,” she stammered. “We don’t have this bassinet in supply. You’ll have to wait for it to come in.”   
  
“Can we make it an express delivery?” I asked. “I’ll pay more if I have to.”   
  
“An express delivery?” the poor girl broke down a little. “Uhm...yeah, I guess that wouldn’t be a problem.”   
  
“Good,” I said. “We’ll be back tomorrow to pick it up.”   
  
“Tomorrow!?” she shrieked and Bella slapped me on the arm with a wicked sting.   
  
“Edward, you’re giving the poor woman a heart attack!” She admonished me and I had the decency to at least look sheepish.   
  
“The day after tomorrow?”   
  
“You’re incorrigible.”   
  
“We’ll do our absolute best, Mr. Cullen,” Bianca ensured me. I nodded in satisfaction and gestured for her to lead the way.   
  
Bella and I followed her towards the register where she put in the almighty list of purchases we had.   
  
We had an old fashioned English model pram in pretty white, a baby carrier, a car seat, a changing table that would arrive around the same time as the bassinet, an entire mountain of diapers, bottles, formula, onesies, socks, more clothes. We had two diaper bags, endless amounts of toys, pacifiers. A small baby tub called a TummiTub, baby oil, shampoo, bath gel, a soft hair brush. Well, we just had a lot.   
  
When the total was rung up, I had to hold Bella up to stop her from fainting. As it was, she looked startlingly pale and oddly sick to her stomach.   
  
“If you want to wait here while we get the stuff ready and inside the truck, the delivery guys will follow you back to your home,” Bianca told us and I agreed, asking for a cup of cold water for Bella.   
  
The latter took a full ten minutes to come back to her senses, after which there was hell to pay.   
  
“Over ten grand!” she shrieked. “Ten grand! More, actually! Have you lost your mind!?”   
  
I just smirked at her, stroking Grace’s carrier-covered back while Bella ranted, close to hyperventilating and nursing her ice-water as if it was her life raft.   
  
Eventually, when she made no apparent show of having intentions to stop ranting, I reached out and placed my finger across her lips. She shut up instantly and I tried not to shiver from the contact.   
  
“It’s fine,” I told her, short and determined.   
  
“But,” she mumbled around my finger.   
  
“I’m serious.”   
  
“You’re crazy,” she told me and I grinned at her.   
“Perhaps,” I said. “But this baby deserves the best of the best and we’re gonna give it to her.”   
  
“Alright,” she admitted in a sigh. “But you’re still crazy.”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, special thanks to my wonderful friend Smmiskimen. Love that woman.


	3. Starting the process

Edward’s house was impressive. It was a townhouse in the middle of Seattle and yet it felt as though I had stepped into a home that belonged in the suburbs or even a small, quaint town. The thick walls, double-paned windows and the massive oak door shut out the sounds from outside.    
  
It was decorated gorgeously with warm, coffee colored walls and expensive looking dark wooden furnishings. It was also pristine in its tidiness. The living room housed a huge L-shaped leather couch on one side and the opposite wall was completely covered with bookcases and shelves, only broken up by a gap large enough for the TV to be sunk into.    
  
But even as I let my eyes truly absorb Edward’s house, while he was off bringing in the endless supply of baby-stuff, I noticed that it was as cold as the coffee-creamer colored walls allowed. There were no pictures anywhere, no memorabilia of his childhood, nothing that made his beautiful house a home.    
  
I also deduced Edward was a certain level of OCD. His music and DVD collection were in a strict order. Band by band, genre by genre. It was disheartening to be honest.    
  
The kitchen wasn’t much better. It was gorgeous, of course, but cold and seemingly unused. His stainless steel appliances were perfectly clean, no finger prints or sign of wear by use except for his coffeemaker. As I went through his cupboards, gently rocking the baby on my chest, I noticed his OCD bled into his kitchen as well. I sighed a little.    
  
“Okay,” he suddenly doomed up behind me, startling me a little and I turned to him with a smile.    
  
“We got all of it,” he said with a beaming smile and I couldn’t help the now somewhat familiar clench in my stomach whenever he smiled. His smile was absolute; it absorbed his entire being and lit his beautiful face up to a point where it was almost painful to look at him.    
  
He puffed up his cheeks and grinned. “We have a lot of stuff.”    
  
I nodded, eyeing the pile of baby stuff. “Yes, we really do,” I couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped me as I said it because really, it was such an understatement. We had more than a lot, I dared almost say we had too much.    
  
“Edward, can you hand me the formula and a bottle please?” I asked him, knowing it was about time for Grace to wake up and demand sustenance. The last time she ate was in the hospital and even though it was only a few hours ago, it seemed like a lifetime ago.    
  
“Yeah,” he responded, digging into the pile to locate the gold standard of baby formula and a bright pink bottle that was specifically designed to make sure the baby got as little air in her system as possible.    
  
“I’m going to put up the pram,” Edward told me as I read how to make a good bottle for little Grace.    
  
“Okay,” I said, turning around to the faucet behind me. Edward slid up beside me, plugging a white round piece of equipment into a socket. My confusion must have been evident on my face because he shrugged.    
  
“It’s a bottle cooker,” he explained. “Apparently it heats up a bottle to the perfect temperature.”    
  
“Okay,” I said with a smile.    
  
“You just have to put the bottle in and flip the switch.”    
  
“Go,” I laughed, pushing him away with one hand and returned to filling the bottle with water. When it was full enough, I put it into the cooker, flipping it on and reaching over to the box of formula.    
  
The action however caused a bout of vertigo to hit me in full force and I had to grip onto the counter tightly in order not to fall. My head was swimming, the ground underneath me spinning out of control and I squeezed my eyes shut as the kitchen started pulsating in front of my eyes.    
  
“Oh my god, Edward!”    
  
“Bella! Shit, what’s wrong?!” I felt his hands land on my shoulders but his voice sounded miles away from me.    
  
“Take the baby,” I gasped out, opening my eyes long enough to look into his. Big mistake, the world started spinning further out of control and I squeezed them shut again.    
  
“Fuck, your pupils are blown,” I heard him mutter as he swiftly unclipped the carrier from around my shoulders and lifted Grace away from my chest. I heard her fussing as I slid down the cabinets to the floor, putting my head between my knees.    
  
“Have you eaten anything today?” Edward’s voice asked.    
  
I started to say I had but I cut myself off. I didn’t have time to eat this morning when I left the house. I was late for work... I shook my head in answer to his question.    
  
“Alright,” he said. “Come on, let’s get you to the couch.”    
  
He slid his free arm around me, supporting my weight from beneath my arms as he hoisted me up. I gasped as the sensation caused the floor underneath to explode in waves and swirls. I kept my eyes closed as he gently guided me to the couch. He sat me down on the soft, cool leather and placed Grace next to me on her bag. She was fussing, working up to a cry and I weakly reminded Edward of the bottle.    
  
“Got it,” he said, pushing me back until my head was resting on the back of the couch. I put my hand on the baby, distractedly making shushing sounds as her noises gradually grew in volume. I breathed deeply, steadily, in an effort to dispel my head from the dizziness but it hadn’t gone away yet when Edward returned with the bottle.    
  
“Here,” he said, handing me an apple. “This is all I have right now. I’ll feed Grace first, then go out for something to eat okay?”    
  
I nodded, biting into the apple. It was too sour and dry for me to enjoy but my stomach was crying in relief because of it. As I ate, I watched him pick Grace up and sit down with her. He held her perfectly, naturally, as he guided the bottle to her face. She latched on instantly, calming down even though she was still making fussy noises around the nipple of the bottle.    
  
I watched him watching her with such love in his eyes and I was once again enamoured by him. He was a mystery to me. I knew so little about him and yet I felt like I knew him completely. But I didn’t and I was well aware of that. I wanted to know what he was thinking, how his inner monologue worked. Was he really as accepting and generous as he seemed?    
  
He must’ve felt my eyes burning in his temple because he tilted his head towards me with a question in his eyes.    
  
I looked away, suddenly self-conscious. Edward and I didn’t know each other. All I knew about him was that he had once dated a junkie supermodel, that he was amazing with babies and didn’t blink while spending thousands and thousands of dollars for a baby he didn’t even know he was going to get to keep.    
  
“Tell me a bit about yourself?” His soft whisper reached my ears and I looked back to him.    
  
“There’s not much to tell,” I told him with a shrug. “I’m pretty boring.”    
  
“I don’t believe that.”    
  
“Well, what do you want to know?”    
  
He grinned, and it momentarily took my breath away. “Let’s start with the basics.”    
  
“Like?” I asked with a smile, taking a bite out of my yucky apple.    
  
“What’s your favorite food?”    
  
I laughed. “Well, it sure as hell ain’t this apple!”    
  
Edward threw his head back in laughter and I couldn’t help but giggle along with him.    
  
“Sorry,” he said after calming down and adjusting the baby in his arms. “I don’t usually have food in the house.”    
  
“Why not?” I asked him.    
  
“Well,” he said on an exhale. “I’m not here a lot. I get take-out, eat, work or watch TV, sleep and spend the rest of my time at the office.”    
  
I frowned. “Is your job that demanding?” If that was the case, it was gonna be a problem on how he was gonna spend time with Grace.    
  
“No,” he sighed. “I just... I don’t know. I wouldn’t say I like being there but it’s better than being here all alone.”    
  
“Oh,” I whispered, humbled by his generous vulnerability.    
  
He shrugged. “It’s a big house. It gets lonely here.”    
  
“It doesn’t have to be,” I told him. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find a lot of willing women to fill the silence.”    
  
He snorted. “Not really. I mean, there are those that want to be with me, don’t get me wrong - but they want to be with me because I’m E. A. Cullen, rich super lawyer. They don’t want me for me.”    
  
“Well, what do  you  want?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. He looked down at Grace with a frown and I held my breath, wondering if he was going to be angry with me for hitting too close to the bone.    
  
But he wasn’t, instead he answered in a soft voice. “I want something real. Someone that loves  me,  not my wallet or status.”    
  
I slowly released my breath as he continued to gaze at the sweet bundle in his arms. “I want a warm home, with someone I can trust.”    
  
I was at a loss for words. Not knowing what to say or do, I reached out and touched his arm.    
  
“You’ll find that person,” I told him, contributing the sudden fluttering in my stomach to the fact I had barely eaten anything. “I promise.”    
  
I was sucked in by his beautiful eyes, that seemed to deepen as I stared. The green in his eyes was almost hypnotic as he pinned me with his look. My head started spinning again and this time, it had nothing to do with lack of food.     
  
He didn’t say anything, he just nodded softly.    
  
It was him that broke the connection by looking down at Grace. By the time he looked back up at me, his eyes were different. Less open, less vulnerable.    
  
“How about we order some food in?” he asked.    
  
“Yeah,” I rasped, clearing my throat. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”    
  
Edward gently scooted to the edge of the couch, placing the now empty bottle on the table and stood up. He placed Grace against his shoulder to burp her and I shot up.    
  
“Wait!” I said, doing a half sprint-half skip to the pile of baby stuff and digging through it in search of the spit clothes we had gotten.    
  
He thanked me when I returned to him and placed the cloth over his shoulder. He grinned sheepishly as he started to pad the baby’s back and she spit up. I grinned back at him.    
  
“Alright, sit down,” he told me. “I’ll go order some food.”   
  
“Can I have the baby?” I asked with a smile. “I feel like cuddling.”    
  
“Oh, I see how it is,” he chuckled. “Spit up for me, cuddles for you.”    
  
“Exactly,” I laughed, taking her from his arms and holding her up to my face to rub my nose against hers.    
  
She cooed adorably, kicking her tiny legs. I went over to the pile with her, crouching down while holding her close to me and dug up the rattle Edward got for her. I held it up for her, laughing when she swatted at it with the cutest little gurgle.    
  
Back at the couch, I lay her down on it and played with her. She was cooing up a storm, swatting at the rattle and even yanking it out of my hand so that she could suckle on it. She didn’t seem to like the flavor of it since she scrunched up her perfect face and tossed the rattle aside.    
  
At my sudden laugh, she looked at my face and tilted her head slightly. I rubbed her tummy and was rewarded with a small baby-laugh.    
  
“Oh!” I gasped, having not realized that babies so small could even laugh. “Edward, did you hear her?”    
  
“I did,” he said lovingly, interrupting his conversation on the phone. “Isn’t she amazing?”    
  
I beamed down at her, falling in love with her deeper and deeper every second that passed by. Edward joined us after he finished placing his order and knelt down on the floor in front of the couch so that he could nuzzle her cheek.    
  
I felt the smile on my face threatening to rip my cheeks but in that moment I was so undeniably happy. I felt warm and welcome. Loved even. It was amazing that Edward and I - strangers really - fell so easily in step together because of this sweet baby.    
  
He only stayed there for a moment longer before he went to put up the pram for Grace.    
  
“I can’t wait for the rest of the stuff to arrive,” he told me and I smiled at him as he clicked parts together.    
  
“You’re still crazy, ya know.”    
  
He laughed. “I’m never gonna live that down, am I?”    
  
“Nope,” I said with a sweet smile.    
  
“Nice.”    
  
I laughed at him, turning back to Grace who was looking around her, taking in her surroundings. It made me remember a question that had been burning in my mind while we were at the store.    
  
“Hey, Edward?”    
  
“Yeah,” he grunted, pushing against a stubborn piece of the pram.    
  
“Erm...” I hesitated.    
  
“Out with it, Bella.”    
  
“How are we going to do this, exactly?”    
  
“Do what?” he asked, exhaling loudly when he heard the satisfying click of the two parts coming together.    
  
“Grace. Do you want her to live here with you?” I asked in a small voice.    
  
He stopped whatever he was doing with the pram’s wheels and came over to us, pushing a hand through his hair.    
  
“I would love that, yeah,” he answered honestly.    
  
“Yeah,” I whispered, looking at her. “That’s best anyway, I live in a small studio that barely has running water. Or electricity for that matter.”    
  
“Where is your place?”    
  
When I told him where I lived, he frowned. “That’s not the best neighborhood,” he rightfully pointed out.    
  
“I know, but it’s all I can afford.”    
  
“Well,” he said, puffing up his cheeks. “You’re always welcome here, obviously.”    
  
I smiled but it wasn’t real. I hated the thought of having to leave and go to my place. I sighed as he got back up and went back to the assembly of the pram.    
  
“There are a bunch of bedrooms upstairs,” he said. “Why don’t you go pick out a room for Grace?”    
  
“Yeah?” I asked, surprised that he would trust me so in his home.    
  
“Yeah,” he smiled.    
  
As I got up, my stomach rumbled loudly and he laughed. “I’m sure the food will be here soon.”    
  
I giggled a little, patting my stomach before picking Grace up from the couch.    
  
“Do you want to go pick out a room with me, baby?” I cooed at her, placing her against my shoulder. “Come on, sweetie pie.”    
  
Upstairs was a square shaped hallway in which four white painted doors came out. It looked massive, much bigger than a townhouse should logically seem to allow. I opened the door closest to me and stepped into the stunning, luxurious bathroom that was revealed. The tiles were sandy in color and the shower was worked into a corner. The walls of the shower were made out of impeccable transparent glass with a massive shower head and wall-jets. On the other side of the room was a huge, deep tub. The sink consisted out of two gorgeous glass bowls sunk into a granite counter top. It was beautiful and luxurious without being overzealous.    
  
I stepped back out, rocking Grace gently and opened the next door. It revealed a rectangle shaped room that was completely empty apart from a closet and a small queen sized bed. Noting that it must be the guestroom, I chalked it up to a possible room for Grace before moving on to the other rooms on the opposite side of the hallway. One of the doors was opened just a creak and I pushed it to allow myself access. This room was slightly bigger than the guest room I had just seen and it held more.    
  
The king sized bed was a mess, clearly slept in. There was a glass of water on the nightstand, a book and a pair of black framed reading glasses. The window next to the bed was thrown open, the curtains roughly, crookedly brushed aside. The dresser on the opposite wall had clearly been yanked open as several pieces of clothing were strewn haphazardly around. The room was a stark contrast to the rest of the otherwise pristine house.    
  
I walked over to the window. It looked down on an alleyway and I realized with a start that that’s how Edward must’ve found Grace this morning. Subconsciously I clutched her closer to me as I observed the filthy alley. It seemed incomprehensible that less than nine hours ago, Grace was down there cold and alone.    
  
“I heard her crying,” Edward said behind me and I twirled around to him with a start.    
  
“This morning,” he continued, leaning against the doorpost with his hands in his pockets and his eyes focused solely on the baby I was clutching close. “I woke up to the sound of her crying. I thought it was just a mother on the street passing but the crying wouldn’t stop.”    
  
I took a deep breath, walking over to him to hand her to him.    
  
“I got out of bed, looked down and saw her,” he said, stroking her back as if she was the finest porcelain doll he had ever touched. “I panicked, got dressed, flew out of the house and got her.”    
  
He breathed in deeply, digging into his pocket. “This note was with her.”    
  
He handed it to me and I briefly wondered why he hadn’t shown me before but he must have simply forgotten about it in the hectic mess of today.    
  
The paper was dirty and wrinkled and the writing on it was hard to decipher, as though the person who wrote it had very little education. It was hard to decipher but the message was clear.    
  
“She deserves more. Please take care of her.”    
  
“She deserves more. Please take care of her.’ Was this written by her mother?” I mused out loud.    
  
“I think so, yes,” Edward answered with a sigh. “We need to try and track the mother down, Bella.”    
  
“Why?” I asked.    
  
“So that we can show that we’ve done everything to find Grace’s biological mother when the judge gets ready to slaughter us.”    
  
His voice was so matter-of-fact, so cold about it, that it made my stomach clench. The implications of Edward’s words crashed into me and if it wasn’t for his hand that suddenly came down on my shoulder, I would’ve gone into a wicked panic attack.    
  
“We’ll be fine, Bella,” he said. “I promise.”    
  
“How?” I rasped. “We need so much for her. Social security number, birth certificate. Oh my god.”    
  
“We’ll be fine,” Edward repeated. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow, okay?”    
  
I nodded, not entirely convinced.    
  
“Have you picked a room for Grace yet?” he asked, suddenly cheery and I admired his ability to shake off the dread and insecurity.    
  
“Not yet,” I muttered.    
  
“Well,” he said, guiding me out of his room and opening the door to the room next to it. It was smaller and empty but I could see how this room would fit Grace. We could paint the walls, which were a boring white and hang pretty shelves. “I think this room would suit little miss Grace just fine.”    
  
I smiled at him and nodded. “Yeah, it could be perfect.”    
  
He smiled back at me. “Alright, come on. Dinner’s arrived.”    
  
~*SG*~    
  
My apartment building seemed dark and inhospitable in comparison to Edward’s townhouse. I stood in front of it, across the street, quietly observing it. My windows weren’t visible from this side of the building and all the windows below my floor were either too dark or too bright.    
  
The building seemed poor, even though it wasn’t exactly ghetto or even undesirable. The neighborhood was okay, there was just a lot of juvenile crime and a few dealers here and there. It wasn’t anything too bad and yet suddenly I felt myself pining to go back to Edward’s peaceful place only three streets away.    
  
Leaving Grace was incredibly hard to do and ever since I had heard the soft click of Edward closing the door behind me, I had this depressed feeling growing in my chest. I didn’t want to leave but I also didn’t want to impose on Edward’s personal space. So I had taken a deep breath and right after we had put Grace in the pram that would serve as her bed until the bassinet arrived, I announced that I was leaving.    
  
Edward had offered me his guest room but I couldn’t stay there and push myself on him. So I left.    
  
With a sigh, I crossed the dark street to my front door and opened it. The stairs that loomed up behind that door were dark and narrow, going off into corridors that led to the apartments on the lower floors. My studio, at the very top of those stairs, had no corridor. Just a small floor between the steps and my door. I stepped onto it and stuck my key into the lock, listening to the sounds of the building.    
  
The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Cope, that lived right below me were arguing again and I half smiled. They were always arguing, even when they had guests around. They were the kind of couple that used really passionate arguments as their own version of loving bickering. Of course, their fights came with a nasty side effect - even though Mr. Cope was well in his seventies, he evidently had no problems with getting it up because he and his wife regularly had sex loud enough for me to want to rip my ears off and pour undiluted bleach into my brain.    
  
I stepped into my studio and looked around. Somehow it seemed smaller, darker. My lights were back on, meaning that the electricity was back so that was a good thing but the place I was usually so proud of felt different somehow; hollow almost.    
  
I heaved another sigh and dropped my purse on the kitchen counter. I tossed my coat into the corner and took a can of Diet Coke out of the fridge before sitting down on my couch, staring into space.    
  
Fatigue snuck up on me and I lulled my head back, gazing at the ceiling. I woke up in that same position two hours later. The still closed can of Coke was still in my hand and my fingers had cramped painfully around it because of the cold. My neck was aching and my ass was numb. My couch wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world.    
  
I got up, wincing slightly when the pain in my back increased with the movement, and placed the Coke back in the fridge before stumbling onto the raised platform that held my bed. After I got out of my jeans and t-shirt I flopped down onto the bed and wriggled under the blankets. As soon as I was in a comfortable position, my brain was assaulted by images of Edward.    
  
Edward was so shockingly handsome that it made me feel small and insignificant in comparison. I was plain and he was the exact opposite of that. From his unruly mop of hair, to his impossibly green eyes and right down to his toes, he was amazing.    
  
I briefly wondered what he would be like in bed and was shocked by how easily the images of him between my legs, his body moving over mine.    
  
Would he be a tender lover, in control like he seemed to be in his daily behavior? Or would he lose himself in the passion, become rough and primal?    
  
A fantasy instantly formed in my mind and I didn’t have the power of will to stop it. He would pull me to him and bury his face in the side of my neck. His lips on the sensitive skin would send me into a frenzy, just as his hands would travel up my body from my hips to cup my breasts.    
  
A moan bubbled from my chest as my hands mimicked the much larger ones from my fantasies. My thumbs passed over my bra-clad nipples while I imagined how he would kiss a trail of heat from my neck down, stopping to nibble on my collarbones for a mere second and simultaneously pulling down the cups of my bra.    
  
I moaned again at the thought of his tongue caressing my nipples. His lips would close over the flesh, suckle more of me into his mouth and gently bite down. My thighs rubbed together as a startling ache built up between them.    
  
I slipped one hand down, keeping the other up to massage my breast and slipped into my underwear. I was wetter than I had ever been before and my fingers slipped through my folds easily. As they passed my clit, posing as Edward’s longer and rougher fingers, another much more guttural moan escaped me.    
  
My eyes flew open at the sensation, half expecting Edward’s intense face to hover over mine. I was met with the sight of a dark ceiling. My fingers twitched down on my clit and I quickly let my eyes flutter closed again, rubbing in circles.    
  
It only took a couple of passages over my clit for my body to start the tense build-up to an orgasm. I breathed heavily, pressing my head down into my pillow and roughly pinching my nipple as I increased pace and pressure around the most sensitive spot of me.    
  
My orgasm came swiftly and it exploded all over me, dragging me down into the depths only to lift me up to incredible heights. I was aware of Edward’s name slipping from my lips and I let it come out louder than I had intended.    
  
I crashed back down to earth, shaking and panting in the aftermath of one of the most intense orgasms I had ever given myself. Dragging my hand over my forehead and into my hair, I let a small exhausted laugh escape me.    
  
That was amazing and my body pleasantly shivered at the thoughts of how much more intense it would be if Edward’s hands actually were the ones coaching it to an orgasm.    
  
The phone on my nightstand buzzed with an incoming text and I briefly considered ignoring it. But I never ignored texts and so I wasn’t about to start now. I grabbed the phone and slid it out of screen-lock.    
  
A sudden, furious blush crept up my face when I saw that Edward had texted me.    
  
Grace seems to have decided that sleep is for the weak. I hope you’re having sweet dreams. ~ E.    
  
I smiled, a little embarrassed by the fact that I had just had an amazing orgasm by his imaginary hands. I quickly hit reply, my fingers typing out an answer automatically.    
  
Need help? ~ B.    
  
I hit send, looking around for my clothes in case Edward asked me to come back so that I could help him with the baby. His reply came quickly.    
  
Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of robbing you of your sleep. You had a long day, you need sleep. ~ E.    
  
I snorted, replying instantly.    
  
So do you. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind helping you out. ~ B.    
  
Really? Well, I guess I could use your help but only if you swear that you’re not too tired. ~ E.    
  
Strangely enough I wasn’t tired at all. The orgasm I had only gave me more energy and so I slipped out of bed and tiptoed across to my closet. I picked out a pair of yoga pants and a sweater that was too big for me. It slipped off my shoulder but it covered my ass and groin perfectly. Nothing was worse than wearing yoga pants with a visible camel-toe.    
  
I pulled my hair together in a sloppy ponytail and slipped into a pair of ballet flats. I grabbed a small bag and went into the bathroom for my toothbrush and the basic make-up necessities. With everything in tow, I slipped on my coat, grabbed my purse and left the studio.    
  
On my way. ~ B.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major thanks to my lovely beta Smmiskimen

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Smmiskimen for being the best beta ever ;) 
> 
> Thnx for reading. Kisses!


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